This meeting included reports on the annual review of the Brockley PFI, an update on the Building for Lewisham development programme, and the Council's compliance with the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code. The Council also presented their annual statutory reports to the Housing Ombudsman for scrutiny by the Committee.

Brockley PFI - Annual Review

The Committee was scheduled to review the annual report for the Brockley Private Finance Initiative (PFI) which started in June 2007. The PFI contract was for the refurbishment, management, and maintenance of 1,826 dwellings.

The contract was scheduled to be discussed in detail, including information about the responsibilities of the organizations involved.

RegenterB3 (RB3) is a special purpose vehicle set up to deliver the Brockley PFI contract. RegenterB3 hold ultimate responsibility for delivering against the terms of the contract. The relevant parts of the Project Agreement and Output Specification flow down to Pinnacle and Equipe (‘Rydon’) in the form of Management Agreements.

Pinnacle, a facilities management company, are responsible for housing management services at the PFI properties, while Rydon, a construction company, deliver the repairs, maintenance and planned works.

The report also contained details on fire and building safety. Three blocks on the PFI site, Holly Tree House, Conifer House and Poplar House, are classified as Higher Risk Residential Buildings (HRRB) under the Building Safety Act 2022¹ and are required to be registered with the Building Safety Regulator and to produce building safety cases.

The Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) introduced a new regulatory regime for High-Risk Buildings, defined as those which are at least 18 metres in height or have at least 7 storeys and contain 2 or more residential units. The Act established a Building Safety Regulator (BSR) within the Health and Safety Executive to oversee the new regime. The BSR is responsible for ensuring that high-risk buildings are designed, constructed and managed safely.

Eleven other blocks on the PFI site are over 11 metres in height and need to meet the requirements of the Fire Safety Act 2022².

The Fire Safety Act 2022 (FSA) clarified the responsibilities of building owners and managers in relation to fire safety in residential buildings. The Act amended the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 to make it clear that building owners and managers are responsible for the fire safety of the external walls of their buildings, including cladding, balconies and windows.

The report contained information about customer satisfaction at the PFI site, complaints handling procedures, housing management and asset management services, as well as details of future work and a service improvement plan.

Building for Lewisham Programme Update

The Committee was scheduled to be updated on the Building for Lewisham (BfL) development programme, the Council's housebuilding programme. The BfL programme was originally approved in 2018. It has delivered 385 homes and has an additional 684 homes that are either on-site or have recently been completed.

Market challenges including the rise in construction and labour costs, the inflation on the cost of borrowing, and the changes in building safety regulations have impacted the delivery of the programme. The report outlined a number of changes to the Council's approach, including engaging with the GLA to secure higher grant rates, using Right to Buy (RTB) receipts to fund low-cost home ownership and pausing pre-construction sites to undertake design reviews.

The Committee was scheduled to be informed of the status of various schemes, including:

• Algernon Road: This scheme will deliver 4 large family homes and is on-site but currently paused. The report proposes that the Council procure a contractor to complete the scheme, as the original contractor went into receivership.
• Bampton Estate: The report proposes that the Council accept a commercial settlement to the contractor, Guildmore, for the delivery of this scheme. The Bampton Estate development was originally scheduled to deliver 39 affordable homes and is currently on-site.
• Longfield Road: The report proposes to allocate a budget to instruct United Living, the Council's term contractor, to carry out latent defect works on the scheme. The Longfield Road development was completed in 2019 and delivered 27 homes.
• Home Park and Edward Street: The report commits the Council to return to Mayor and Cabinet with a proposal for these schemes. Both schemes have been written off following the contractor, Caledonian Modular, becoming insolvent.

The report also contained information about the risks and challenges facing the programme, with proposed mitigations.

Annual Statutory Housing Ombudsman Reports 2023-24

The Council was scheduled to submit their first annual statutory report to the Housing Ombudsman under the new Housing Ombudsman Service Complaint Handling Code 2024. This consists of three separate reports: a self-assessment, an annual complaints report, and a service improvement report.

The Committee was scheduled to review these reports and endorse Councillor Will Cooper, Cabinet Member for Better Homes, Neighbourhoods and Homelessness, as the Member Responsible for Complaints.

The self-assessment against the Complaint Handling Code showed that the Council is partially compliant with the Code. This is due to:

• Scrutiny and Oversight: The pre-election timetable limited the amount of scrutiny the Council was able to obtain for its statutory reports.
• Policy Compliance: The Council's Compensation, Reimbursement, and Remedies policy is not yet finalized, though it is scheduled to be complete by September 2024.
• Practice Compliance: The Council is not consistently meeting its targets for complaints handling, as shown in both the Council's complaints casework and Housing Ombudsman casework.

To improve complaints handling, the Council launched the Housing Transformation Programme in November 2023, which has a complaints handling workstream, and the Complaints Handling Improvement Project (CHIP).

The Committee was scheduled to review the Annual Complaints Performance report, which found that the top causes of complaint were repairs and maintenance, communication and follow-up, the complaints handling process itself, anti-social behaviour, and the service provided by the Housing Ombudsman.

The Committee was also scheduled to review the Service Improvement Plan, which includes actions to:

• Governance & Reporting: Improve the Council's reporting and transparency.
• Policies: Finalise key policies, update procedure and guidance documents, review key processes, and develop a Knowledge and Information Management strategy.
• People: Ensure the Council's complaints handling teams are adequately resourced and that staff training is delivered.
• Systems: Make improvements to the complaints case management system.

The Housing Ombudsman launched a special investigation into the Council in July 2024, because of the Council's high rate of maladministration, including a significant number of severe maladministration findings, and compliance issues relating to its complaints handling. The areas to be reviewed by the Housing Ombudsman are the Council's handling of leaks, damp and mould, complaints, and repairs.

Select Committee Work Programme Report

The Committee was scheduled to review their Work Programme for 2024-25, which had been previously agreed by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 23 July 2024.

The Committee was scheduled to be asked to consider items for their next meeting, and what information should be included in officer reports on those items, as well as whether to invite expert witnesses. The items scheduled for discussion at the next meeting were:

• HRA rent-setting report
• Housing Retrofit Strategy
• Budget-cut proposals
• Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) Report

The Committee was also scheduled to review the forward plan of key decisions to identify any items for scrutiny.

The Committee was scheduled to be reminded of the Council's Corporate Strategy 2022-2026, which includes a priority to provide quality housing, and how their work can contribute to this priority.